After Taiwan Province, all Zweig's works were banned, and this book is no exception. Zweig himself was persecuted by exiled Nazis in 1934. Seeing the flames of war, the loving masters killed each other, and finally became pessimistic and disappointed about the future of mankind. In 1942, they committed suicide in Brazil with their wives. Shortly after his death, a publishing house republished the book in 1943, from five to twelve, and has been republishing it since then, and it still has a large number of readers in the world. More than one Jia Zi is still selling well, which shows the powerful charm of this book.
As an outstanding writer, Zweig naturally understands the important role of "inspiration" in artistic creation. He knows that no artist will always be in the process of artistic creation, and those successful works with the most characteristics and vitality are often just sudden and fleeting "inspiration" pens. And "history-we praise it as the greatest poet and actor of all time-is the same, and it can't continue to make new creations." "Before a moment of historical significance in the real world-the moment when human stars shine, there will inevitably be an unnecessarily long time." At this critical moment, "what usually happens slowly and in parallel is compressed into such a short moment that everything is decided." At this moment, generations of irretrievable decisions were made, which decided the life and death of a person, the survival of a nation and even the fate of the whole mankind. "
The relationship between this earth-shattering "critical moment" and the unremarkable "long years" is actually the relationship between what we call historical "contingency" and "inevitability". Whether history is determined by countless "contingencies" or only "inevitability" is a metaphysical question that has been debated by historians and philosophers for thousands of years and may never be accepted by everyone. Perhaps, the unremarkable long years are to prepare for the sudden change of history and accumulate energy, just like the underground magma, which finally broke out under the pressure of long-term savings. For individuals, countries and nations, the choice at this critical moment is indeed a lifetime. If the long and leisurely years are gentle deep currents at the bottom of the long river of history, then the short "critical moment" is the stormy waves on the river; If the long years are long-term practical preparations behind the scenes of history, then the brilliant moment is the dazzling performance at the front desk of history. Zweig's twelve historical features show the surging waves and wonderful performances of history, and are the actions of historical subjects at this moment.
"A thousand miles away." Sometimes, a decision made in one second will make the historical result completely different. There was such a "second" in the Battle of Waterloo, which decided the historical fate. 1865438+In mid-June 2005, Napoleon, who regained power, fought fiercely with the anti-French Coalition forces for several days. After some victories, he finally defeated Waterloo and ended his political life. Since then, "Waterloo" has become synonymous with great failure. However, Napoleon's fiasco at Waterloo was not without accidental factors. The timid and obedient Marshal grouchy made a wrong decision in one second, which eventually led to great disaster.
In the face of the powerful allied forces, Napoleon decided to divide and rule before he really joined forces, so he decided to attack the British and Prussian allied forces that threatened him the most. The fighting started at 2 pm on June 16. The main force of the French army is 70 thousand, and the main force of the Pu Junjun army is 80 thousand. Napoleon sent another 50,000 troops to contain the British. He hoped to cut off the British and Pu Jun armies and then separate them one by one. In the face of the French onslaught, Pu Jun immediately rout, retreat to Brussels. Napoleon knew that Pu Jun was defeated, but it was not destroyed, so he sent an army under the command of grouchy to pursue Pu Jun to prevent it from joining the British army.
Napoleon, who defeated Pu Jun, led an army to attack the British army. Hearing that the defeated British army in Pu Jun was afraid to fight alone, he quickly retreated to Waterloo, where the British and French troops fought a decisive battle. At this time, Pu Jun, defeated by Napoleon, rallied and divided into two ways, all the way to reinforce the British army near Waterloo and directly besieged the French right wing. Grouchy is still looking for Pu Jun. He is only three hours away from Waterloo, but he has never found it. On the morning of June 8th, 1 1, it was time to decide the historical process. Fierce fighting caused heavy casualties on both sides. The British army was unable to support and the French army was exhausted. Both sides are anxiously waiting for reinforcements. At this time, whoever arrives first will be the winner of this historic battle. This is indeed an extremely crucial historical moment. At dusk, a large group of people finally flew in from a distance, and both sides prayed to God: it was one of our own! The army is getting closer and closer, and the two sides finally see clearly that the flag of Prussia is flying high! After a bloody battle, the French army without reinforcements finally collapsed.
No sooner had the Battle of Waterloo started than grouchy's troops heard the dull sound of guns and felt the earth shaking slightly under their feet. They immediately realized that the main battle had begun. Because Pu Jun could not be found, several of his subordinates eagerly asked grouchy to order the troops to "hurry to the place where the gun was fired!" However, grouchy, who reinforced Napoleon, only considered it for a second and then forcefully announced his decision. Before Napoleon withdrew his appointment, he never deviated from his duty to reinforce. For this second that decided history, Zweig sighed: "This second decided the whole nineteenth century. And this second depends on this pedantic mediocrity. " "If grouchy had the courage and courage at this moment, instead of sticking to the emperor's orders, believing in himself and believing in that obvious signal, then France would be saved." "In earthly life, such moments rarely come. Accidentally talking about a person, I don't know how to use it. At the great moment of fate arrival, all the virtues of citizens-prudence, obedience, diligence and prudence-are of no help. They always ask only talented people to mold him into an immortal image. Fate scornfully rejects the timid. Fate, another god in this world, is only willing to hold the brave high with warm arms and send them to the paradise of heroes. "
However, fate sometimes cruelly plays tricks on people, making them just "overnight geniuses".
1792 On April 25th, the news that France declared war on Prussia and Austria during the Great Revolution reached Strasbourg. This strategic town adjacent to Germany immediately boiled up, and excited people were giving speeches and shouting slogans everywhere, demanding to sign up for the army. The mayor, who is responsible for encouraging the citizens, felt that there were still some magnificent songs missing, so he asked Captain Lu, a young engineer he knew who liked music, if he would like to write a battle song for the "Rhine Army" who will crusade against the enemy tomorrow. Lulai was infected by patriotic enthusiasm from all over the country and readily agreed.
In the early morning of April 26th, after a hard day's work, Rouge returned to her small room and began to write. The creation went very smoothly. Everything I saw in the street today and all kinds of feelings in my heart have come together. It seems that you don't want to write lyrics, so you put the words widely circulated in this day on the rhyme, which has a melody and a strong sense of rhythm, which is to express people's deep feelings. There seems to be no need to compose music, because the marching pace of soldiers, the rhythm of bugles and the click of cannon cars are like the best melody. "Melody is more and more subject to the powerful cheering beat-the pulse of the people of the whole country. Lu Ge wrote down his lyrics and music scores faster and faster, as if he were dictating to a stranger-he had never had such passion in the narrow mind of a citizen. This is not his own excitement and enthusiasm, but an incredible magic gathered at this moment. Generate came out and dragged this poor half bottle of vinegar to a place thousands of times away from himself, shooting him at the stars like a rocket-flashing instant light and flame. "
The next morning, he hurried to the mayor's house with his written song. That night, the song was sung for the first time in the mayor's living room for those carefully selected upper-class people. The guests clapped politely and amicably. The mayor's wife wrote in a letter to her relatives that it was just a "pastime" that her husband came up with for socializing. This song is "considered quite good by the society". As Zweig said, the upper-class people who heard this song for the first time "obviously don't have the slightest premonition: an immortal song has flown to the world they live in with its invisible wings." It is often difficult for contemporaries to see the greatness of a person or a work at a glance. "In the next few days, Lu gave this" Rhineland Battle Hymn "to his colleagues in the cafe without vanity, so that people could copy it and send it to the officers of the Rhineland army. This song, which was ignored by the salons of the upper class, began to be passed down from mouth to mouth, and finally found a bosom friend in the square, the battlefield, the masses and the soldiers, especially in Marseille. The response was so enthusiastic that thousands of people were singing this song. On July 2nd, 500 volunteers from Marseille marched into Paris singing this magnificent battle song.
As they marched, the song spread to all places along the way. On July 30th, Messi volunteers sang this song repeatedly and entered Paris. Thousands of Parisians who welcomed them heard this song for the first time, but it spread all over the city within a few hours. As a result, "this song spread like an avalanche and was unstoppable", and the title of the song was changed to Marcel. A month or two later, Marcel's song became the song of the whole army and the whole people. Many troops bravely rushed to the enemy singing this song. The enemy found that when thousands of soldiers sang this military song at the same time and rushed to their formation like roaring waves, they could hardly stop the explosive force generated by this' terrible' hymn. At this moment, Marcelo is like Nikki, the winged goddess of victory, soaring in various battlefields in France, bringing enthusiasm and death to countless people. "Later, Marcel was designated as the national anthem of France.
However, after writing this song for more than forty years, Rouge lived a very humble life. He has done all kinds of business, including cheating and kidnapping. He was imprisoned for financial cases, evaded creditors and police, and finally died in 1836. How cruel it is that an accidental opportunity made him a god and genius for three hours, and then he was contemptuously thrown back to a trivial position! Such a life cannot but make people sigh again and again.
In the journey of life, faith is undoubtedly the most important pillar of life. It was the power of faith that brought the German composer Han Deer back to life.
Han Deer became famous in his early years, but when it was smooth sailing, the music appreciation style of the society suddenly changed and his position was impacted unprecedentedly. Several of his operas have also failed. His opera house was forced to close, often blocked by creditors, and constantly attacked by competitors and people of all colors. 1In April 737, Han Deer suffered a stroke and hemiplegia, and everyone thought that his music career was over. However, with the motivation in life, he finally got up again a few months later and devoted himself to music creation. After a few years, his creation is still not accepted by people, still bitter cynicism, still blocked by creditors day after day ... In desperation, his courage is gradually worn away, he lives an isolated life, and his mood is getting more and more melancholy and depressed. The creative inspiration that once flowed like a spring has completely dried up, and the driving force of life no longer exists. Exhausted, he felt defeated for the first time, thinking that this time was completely over. He kept sighing, knowing it earlier was not better than being paralyzed all the time, and even thought it was better to die at the beginning. In despair, he couldn't help crying to Jesus who was crucified in a low voice: "My God, God, why did you leave me?"
1741August 2 1 Sunday evening, after the debtor left, Gandel was busy walking in the street. A few hours later, when he trudged home, he suddenly found a white paper bag on the table, which was the lyrics of the oratorio Messiah written by a friend and asked him to compose music. Tired and even a little abnormal, Gandel thought it was a deliberate humiliation and climbed into bed angrily. But he couldn't sleep at all, as if there was an irresistible force that made him get out of bed, lit the candle again, and then opened the manuscript again and read it carefully. As soon as he opened the manuscript, he was shocked and at a loss. He only heard the music echoing and screaming in his ears. When he turned down from page to page, his hands kept shaking and his heart was suddenly awakened. Every lyric seems to be the messiah calling him, and all the fatigue has disappeared. "He has never felt that his energy is as abundant as it is now, and he has never felt that he is full of such a strong desire to create. Those lyrics are like the warm sunshine that melts the ice and snow, and they are constantly pouring on him. " He just wants to prove that "only those who have suffered a lot know how to be happy;" Only those who have suffered will feel the last forgiveness; And he just wants to prove to everyone that he has come back from death. "When he was helpless, no one could help him and comfort him, but now a magical force has helped him, and this is his belief." He believed in God and saw that God didn't let him lie in the grave. ""God woke him up again and asked him to shoulder the mission of bringing joy to people. " "Praise has filled his mind, spreading and expanding, just like a rolling flame spewing out, making people feel burning. "He started taking notes at once and couldn't stop." Just like a ship with sails blown by a storm, it keeps going forward. It was a quiet night. ""but in his heart, it is bright. In his room, all the music is playing, but I can't hear it. "
For the next three weeks, he didn't leave the room, and he was completely intoxicated. He kept composing music while eating, often in tears, soaking the manuscript, and finally finished all his creations. The performance was a great success. In the face of congratulations, he just humbly whispered, "However, I believe that God helped me." He also announced that he would never get a penny for carrying out this work, and all the income would be donated to patients and people in prison. "Because I am a patient myself, I was cured by this work; I was in prison once, and it saved me. "Every spring, he will personally direct the performance of Messiah. Until he is old and blind, he will keep his promise and donate all his income." The greater his victory in the world, the more respected he is before God. "The Messiah has actually become the spiritual sacred product of Gandel, and since then he has continuously created many divine comedy. At this time, his creation is not for secular success, but for inner beliefs. Faith made him surpass himself.
1759 On April 6th, 74-year-old Gandel was seriously ill and still conducted the performance as usual. A few days later, I finally fell down and never got up again. But Messiah, an immortal work, eventually became a famous religious music.
Faith is the pillar of life, but the road of faith is often full of unimaginable bumps. Dostoevsky, a famous Russian writer and thinker, almost went to the road of faith at the cost of his life. 1In April of 849, Dostoevsky, who was only 28 years old, was arrested for participating in anti-Tsarist political activities, deprived of his aristocratic status and sentenced to death. 12 On February 22nd, he was taken to Semyonovski Church Square in Petersburg and executed together with other political prisoners sentenced to death. Just as the soldiers were about to pull the trigger, an officer rode a fast horse and waved a white handkerchief across the square, announcing the imperial edict of the czar and exempting them from the death penalty. According to the imperial edict of the czar, Dostoevsky was sentenced to exile and hard labor. Ten years later, when he returned to Petersburg from exile, he became a devout Christian. Zweig used more than 200 lines of long poems to describe in detail the most critical and thrilling moment in Dostoevsky's ideological transformation-the execution ground was pardoned, which prompted him to start profound psychological changes in the future. "Only after touching the bitter lips of death/his heart can you feel the sweetness of life. /His soul longs to be tortured, tortured. /He clearly realized that/at this second, just like Jesus who was crucified thousands of years ago,/after a painful kiss with death/he had to love life for suffering. "
The road to faith is full of pain, but after seeking faith, devout saints still have deep inner pain because they are full of compassion, and even cannot solve it. Lev tolstoy is a great Russian writer. After his world outlook changed greatly, his personal life suffered a long and profound pain, because his wife didn't agree, and he couldn't change the landlord manor life that didn't conform to his beliefs. On the level of social care, he resolutely opposed violence, strongly condemned tyranny but opposed violence with violence. But in reality, he can't see that autocratic and violent rule can be dominated by love, and this insoluble contradiction also makes him extremely painful. He has long had the idea of running away from home. 19 10 654381On October 28th, 82-year-old Tuo Weng finally made up his mind to leave and died of pneumonia on the way a few days later.
As early as 1890, Tuo Weng began to write the script "Glowing in the Dark". After the change of faith, the protagonist in the play has a serious conflict with his family and society, and his long-term anxiety and pain are actually his own portrayal. But the play has never been finished, only some fragments, because he can't find a solution to the contradiction and pain. Zweig, who is full of admiration for Tolstoy, thinks that "it is most natural to regard Tolstoy's own ending as the end of his tragic fragment", so he wrote the script "Escape to Heaven" with Tolstoy's departure and death as the main topic, "trying to write this final and only ending with the attitude of being loyal to history and respecting facts and documents as much as possible". He declared that his efforts were not to complete Tolstoy's plays, "but only to write an independent ending for his unfinished plays and unresolved conflicts, with the sole purpose of giving a tragic ending to the unfinished tragedy."
In this play, Zweig vividly, strongly and pointedly expressed Thoron's ideological contradiction and mental pain in an artistic way. The "college students" in the play are representatives of revolutionaries. They respect Tuo Weng, but they can't agree with him. They used many cruel facts to show that the czar's autocratic regime suppressed the people in the most cruel way, so they accused him of asking the people to be tolerant and patient, influencing the autocratic rulers with love "actually helping those oppressors" and saying "hating all those who have caused injustice to mankind"? Even my own brother "as long as he brings suffering to mankind, I will knock him down like a mad dog." Tuo Weng said, "I never knew what hatred was." "Even if I hate those who have committed crimes against our people, I am against it." "Even sinners are still my brothers." "College students" categorically said that the era of violent revolution has arrived, while Tuo Weng sharply retorted: "It is impossible to establish a moral system through violence, because any kind of violence will inevitably lead to the recurrence of violence. Once you have mastered weapons, you will soon establish a new absolutism. You are not destroying tyranny, but making it last forever. " On this issue, "college students" are speechless, but they point out the contradiction between Tuo Weng's own lifestyle and belief, which is also a kind of hypocrisy. This accusation deeply shocked Tuo Weng's heart, and he couldn't control himself ... Finally, he staged a tragic scene of running away from home at an advanced age and "escaping from heaven".
In the history of mankind, people are still thinking about this contradiction that deeply troubled Tuo Weng in those days, and it still causes heated debates. ...
These wonderful historical close-ups extended and magnified the "critical moment" of that moment, allowing us to understand the heart of history and feel the "inspiration" of history. As Zweig said, "History is a true poet and dramatist, and no writer can surpass it."
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